MOSAIC roadmap for mobile collaborative work related to health and wellbeing.

The objective of the MOSAIC project is to accelerate innovation in Mobile Worker Support Environments. For that purpose MOSAIC develops visions and illustrative scenarios for future collaborative workspaces involving mobile and location-aware working. Analysis of the scenarios is input to the process of road mapping with the purpose of developing strategies for R&D leading to deployment of innovative mobile work technologies and applications across different domains. One of the application domains where MOSAIC is active is health and wellbeing. This paper builds on another paper submitted to this same conference, which presents and discusses health care and wellbeing specific scenarios. The aim is to present an early form of a roadmap for validation

Developing a Framework for Stigmergic Human Collaboration with Technology Tools: Cases in Emergency Response

Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs), particularly social media and geographic information systems (GIS), have become a transformational force in emergency response. Social media enables ad hoc collaboration, providing timely, useful information dissemination and sharing, and helping to overcome limitations of time and place. Geographic information systems increase the level of situation awareness, serving geospatial data using interactive maps, animations, and computer generated imagery derived from sophisticated global remote sensing systems. Digital workspaces bring these technologies together and contribute to meeting ad hoc and formal emergency response challenges through their affordances of situation awareness and mass collaboration. Distributed ICTs that enable ad hoc emergency response via digital workspaces have arguably made traditional top-down system deployments less relevant in certain situations, including emergency response (Merrill, 2009; Heylighen, 2007a, b). Heylighen (2014, 2007a, b) theorizes that human cognitive stigmergy explains some self-organizing characteristics of ad hoc systems. Elliott (2007) identifies cognitive stigmergy as a factor in mass collaborations supported by digital workspaces. Stigmergy, a term from biology, refers to the phenomenon of self-organizing systems with agents that coordinate via perceived changes in the environment rather than direct communication. In the present research, ad hoc emergency response is examined through the lens of human cognitive stigmergy. The basic assertion is that ICTs and stigmergy together make possible highly effective ad hoc collaborations in circumstances where more typical collaborative methods break down. The research is organized into three essays: an in-depth analysis of the development and deployment of the Ushahidi emergency response software platform, a comparison of the emergency response ICTs used for emergency response during Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, and a process model developed from the case studies and relevant academic literature is described

An investigation into the adoption of CDIO in distance learning

The Conceive, Design, Implement and Operate Initiative (CDIO) uses integrated learning to develop deep learning of the disciplinary knowledge base whilst simultaneously developing personal, interpersonal, product, process and system building skills. This is achieved through active and experiential learning methods that expose students to experiences engineers will encounter in their profession. These are incorporated not only in the design-build-test experiences that form a crucial part of a CDIO programme but also in discipline focused studies. Active and experiential learning methods are, of course, more difficult to incorporate into distance education. This paper investigates these difficulties and the implications in providing a programme that best achieves the goals of the CDIO approach through contemporary distance education methods. First, the key issues of adopting the CDIO approach in conventional oncampus courses are considered with reference to the development of the CDIO engineering programmes at the University of Liverpool. The different models of distance based delivery of engineering programmes provided by the Open University in the UK, and Deakin University and the University of Southern Queensland in Australia are then presented and issues that may present obstacles to the future adoption of the CDIO approach in these programmes are discussed. The effectiveness and suitability of various solutions to foreseen difficulties in delivering CDIO programmes through distance education are then considered. These include the further development, increased use and interinstitutional sharing of technology based facilities such as Internet facilitated access to laboratory facilities and computer aided learning (CAL) laboratory simulations, on campus workshops, and the development of a virtual engineering enterprise

A Method to Determine an Organization’s Compatibility with Hybrid Workspaces

Facing fiscal constraints, organizations should investigate new ways to ensure their weapons, equipment, facilities and personnel operate with improved efficiency. The adoption of hybrid workspaces offers a unique solution to improve both space utilization and workplace efficiency. The premise behind hybrid workspaces is that workspaces are not assigned to individuals; instead, a variety of different work areas are constructed to allow individuals to choose where they accomplish their work-related tasks. However, hybrid workspaces are still an emerging concept and represent a radical departure from traditional workplace setups. Current use of hybrid workspaces falls primarily in the private sector and there is no research available to suggest if hybrid work-spaces may or may not benefit the Air Force. This research investigated the Air Force\u27s culture to determine if it may be feasible for the service to adopt hybrid workspaces. This research developed a method that was used to analyze an Air Force organization\u27s culture to determine if the organization may be compatible with hybrid workspaces. The results show that some Air Force organizations may indeed be favorable to a move toward utilization of these types of spaces. As this research represents the first iteration of such a method, more research is required to determine feasibility. Once matured, the method can prove useful in assessing organizations to determine which areas leadership should pay attention to if they are looking to move forward and adopt hybrid workspaces

The case for new academic workspaces

Executive summary: This report draws upon the combined efforts of a number of estates professionals, architects, academics, designers, and senior managers involved in the planning of new university buildings for the 21st century. Across these perspectives, all would agree – although perhaps for different reasons - that this planning is difficult and that a number of particular considerations apply in the design of academic workspaces. Despite these difficulties, they will also agree that when this planning goes well, ‘good’ buildings are truly transformational – for both the university as a whole and the people who work and study in them. The value of well-designed buildings goes far beyond their material costs, and endures long after those costs have been forgotten ..

The Power of Creative Space in Engineering Education

In order to graduate globally capable engineers who are not only technically savvy, but socially competent and business smart, Sheridan’s School of Engineering has found both a process and a ‘place’ to meet these goals and align with their vision to create curricula that inspire innovation and creativity. The process: the CDIO methodology that helps graduate “ready to work” engineers. The place: Sheridan’s Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Design Technologies (CAMDT). In the fall of 2013 Sheridan unveiled its new visual identity with a tag line that challenges people to get creative. It\u27s a bold and courageous statement that reflects Sheridan\u27s belief that creativity is, among other things, an essential life skill. Our focus on creativity, which can best be described as \u27creativity with purpose\u27 or \u27practical creativity,\u27 extends across all programs. It\u27s about challenging students to re-imagine ideas, experiment, collaborate, take risks and build a resourceful, resilient and flexible mind. How realistic and authentic is this Creative Campus philosophy at Sheridan? How did this notion of creativity make its way into our mission, values and strategic goals? For the CDIO methodology to translate into outcomes, students need the creative space to get the real world practice that makes CDIO such a powerful learning strategy. Operating like a research and development arm for small and medium sized enterprises, CAMDT unites engineering students, faculty and community partners to solve real world challenges and produce solutions that benefit the local economy. At Sheridan, CAMDT is not just a physical space, it’s a creative space where the collaboration between engineering students, educators, industry and community partners not only benefits enterprise partners, but helps Sheridan shape engineering education. In travelling down the road to university recognition, Sheridan has engaged its academic community to describe the characteristics that best represent the Sheridan University of the future. It is through this process that the plan for the Creative Campus emerged. The paper reviews Sheridan’s Creative Campus Strategy and draws parallels to the four high-level expectations in the CDIO syllabus

Work In The 21st Century: A Study In Organizational Adaptation To Alternative Work Arrangements

The concept of alternative work arrangements (AWAs) represents a growing trend within many organizations to shift once-common models of working to newer paradigms. Among many options, this includes models where employees may work from somewhere other than a primary physical office space (remote work), or no longer possess a personal desk at their office (desk sharing). Both remote work and desk sharing often require employees to adapt to a mode of “working” far different than they are accustomed to, yielding a range of conflicting opinions, pros and cons, and unique experiences along the way. The research question becomes: How do employees make sense of their organization’s shift towards alternative work arrangements? This capstone explores the transition from the perspective of a higher-education information technology organization (HEITO) in the midst of its journey in adopting and adapting to AWAs, initially presenting the historical circumstances that led to the organization’s current state. A literature review and secondary research is used to explore AWAs and several sub-topics related to the change, and a recent survey of HEITO’s employees is used to gather quantitative and qualitative data on the organization’s transition. This capstone concludes with an analysis of the research data, and thoughts pertaining to further studies on AWAs

Forming Digital Workspace: Current State and Applications of Extended Reality in Virtual Teams

Extended reality (XR) has been widely applied as an umbrella term encompassing virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality. Despite extensive research on XR applications in various contexts, little attention has been drawn to its utilization in work scenarios, particularly in virtual teams. This study is a systematic literature review of virtual teams utilizing XR in the digital workspace, incorporating related articles from four scientific databases over the past decade. The review focuses on two aspects: the current state of XR implementation in virtual teams and how technology addresses the digital collaborative process. Findings highlight team types, application areas, collaboration modes, and key actions associated with XR usage. A theoretical gap is revealed, as previous studies focus on either the technological aspects of XR or its outcomes. Additionally, this study proposes a model to illustrate how XR technologies empower virtual teams, providing valuable insight for organizations regarding its potential usage